Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist in Burton upon Trent

We are looking for an experienced Speech and Language Therapist for a part-time role (3 days per week) for the acute wards at Queen's Hospital, Burton and the D2A wards at Samuel Johnson (Lichfield) and Sir Robert Peel (Tamworth) community hospitals. The successful candidate will be an enthusiastic and self-motivated individual, working with a small friendly team and the wider MDT. We strongly support CPD, supervision and clinical governance via robust appraisal and objective setting. There may be scope to increase hours in future, if interested.

Main duties of the job:

• The post holder will be able to demonstrate an ability to work under pressure in a busy acute DGH site and work within the D2A pathway for a variety of patients transferred to community sites.
• Liaison will be required with other local services for discharge or any required return to acute services.
• The caseload consists of a variety of diagnoses, including stroke, frailty, dementia and progressive neurological disorders, such as Parkinson's disease.
• Patients require assessment and management of communication difficulties and/or dysphagia.
• The post holder will lead on the development and delivery of training and professional mentorship to the team and wider MDT.
• The post holder will be responsible for providing highly specialist Speech and Language Therapy assessment, formulation, diagnosis and management, requiring advanced clinical reasoning, reflection, interpretation, and analysis.
• The post holder will understand and adhere to relevant pathways and protocols in both the acute and community hospital settings.
• The post holder will lead on training, such as updates on IDDSI and supporting communication difficulties.
• The post holder will support and mentor junior SALT staff and students.

Working for our organisation:

As a trusted organisation at the heart of our communities, we recognise the important role we can play in supporting the public, patients, our own people and local partners in achieving the best of health for the local population and the communities in which they live by providing Exceptional Care Together. Our fundamental Values of Compassion, Openness and Excellence underpin how we intend to work as a Trust and the associated behaviours are becoming embedded in all aspects of how we work.

In Return We Will Offer:

• Development opportunities, both professional and leadership development.
• On-going support from recruitment to when you join our team and beyond.
• Staff benefits including employee assistance programme, discounted gym membership, onsite fitness classes, car schemes.

Key Facts:

• We see on average 4810 OP appointments a day.
• We are the 4th busiest Trauma & Orthopaedic outpatients department in England – an average of 2077 per week.
• An average of 1115 patients are seen in A&Es across our network every day – 3rd largest in the country.
• Our hospitals admit an average of 195 emergency patients daily.
• Last year we undertook almost 33,700 planned surgical operations in our 57 operating theatres.
• We are one of only 7 Trusts nationally with more than 50 operating theatres.
• We carry out more than 140 elective procedures each working day.
• UHDB is a research active University Hospital with a large and varied portfolio of clinical trials and research opportunities for all staff.

Person specification:

Qualifications:

• Recognised relevant Speech and Language Therapy degree qualification.
• HCPC registration.
• RCSLT registration.
• Significant post-graduate experience in acute and/or community hospital settings, working with Stroke, frailty, dementia and progressive neurological disorders.
• Completion of additional training courses and application of skills learned, working at highly specialist level.

Experience:

• Substantive post-graduate experience, working autonomously at a highly specialist level with adults who have dysphagia and communication difficulties.
• Experience of evaluation in evidence-based practice and audit.
• Experience of service planning and development.
• Experience of supporting and mentoring staff, working within an MDT and with multiple agencies.
• Skilled in delivering training to a wide range of people.

Desirable criteria:

• Advanced post-graduate training and competency in dysphagia management, including instrumental assessments, such as FEES and VFSS, tracheostomy.

Skills:

• Proven ability in leadership and effectiveness as a team member.
• Highly developed negotiation and influencing skills, used with a range of other people/groups.
• Able to demonstrate application of ongoing in-depth learning and experience to clinical practice.
• Excellent organisational skills, including prioritisation of both clinical and non-clinical tasks, setting up training sessions, producing educational materials etc.

Other:

• Able to travel across sites as service demands require.